


He Wears His Genius Like a Mask

by foreverphantom017 (mckenziemcquillen)



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, F/M, Not Phantom Planet Compliant, Parental Abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-23
Updated: 2017-03-29
Packaged: 2018-10-09 11:41:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10411356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mckenziemcquillen/pseuds/foreverphantom017
Summary: (copied over from fanfic.net) Daniel James Fenton is a genius, who's life is considerably hard. Family acceptance issues, paired with the fact that social anxiety has made him it's bitch, he just doesn't know if he can do it anymore. But when Casper High's Goth Girl Sam Manson stops him in the hallway, all bets are off. AU





	1. The Goth, The Freak, and the Technogeek

Daniel Fenton pushed his square framed glasses back up his nose on his way to the library of Casper High. He pushed open the doors and looked around, sighing in relief at the sign of no bullies. He waved to Mrs. Chap, the librarian, as he mulled over the Astronomy books in the reference section.

"How can I help you, Mr. Fenton?" Daniel looked up and smiled, clearing his throat. "I have a project in Astronomy….just looking over the books to use." Mrs. Chap smiled at the shy boy, and clapped her hands. "If you need to check any of those out you can. I trust you to take care of them."

"Thank you, Mrs. Chap." He smiled, and pushed his glasses back up his nose again. He continued browsing the books, stopping on a book called Constellations and Their Meanings. He pulled it out, brushing the dust off of the book, the musty smell filling his nostrils. His nose crinkled and he flipped through the pages, not loving the old book smell.

He waved to Mrs. Chap, who checked out the book and he exited the library, and left school.

Daniel James Fenton was something of a genius. He could do the quadratic formula in his head in thirty seconds (tops), could tell you what Shakespearean novel it could be just from the setting, and could tell you all about the constellations and what they mean. Shadowed only by his sister, Jasmine Fenton, Daniel came from a family of geniuses.

Madeline Fenton graduated with a Ph.D in Philosophy and Paranormal Science. Jack Fenton graduated with a Ph.D in Physics and Paranormal science. They were sometimes called a match made in heaven, their love of everything ghostly bringing their love together.

Their oldest child, Jasmine Fenton, had a knack for psychology. Many students of Casper High came to her for advice instead of counselors. She was a shoo in for Harvard, not even worried about her high school ACT score, which she blew out of the water and was a valedictorian at her class graduation.

The family's love of knowledge made them close, but also made people wary of them. Jasmine and Daniel did not have friends outside of each other, though Jasmine did have more acquaintances than her little brother.

Daniel had an extreme form of social anxiety that paired with his genius. He was bullied at school (though his family were in the dark about that) and nobody paid him any attention.

Which is why he was very surprised when a girl (Caspers independent goth girl) stopped him in the hallway. "Hey, Daniel right?" She called out. He turned sharply, and a blush spread over his face. "Wait up, I gotta talk to you." She said, her steps rushed forward towards him. Every fiber of his being told him to run away, but he didn't. He planted himself with only the slightest trace of fear in his eyes.

"Don't be scared of me, okay? I just need your help on the Astronomy project." She said, her arms crossed over his midsection.

Daniel sighed and urged her to go on, not having the social strength to tell her with words. "...You left for the library before Dash complained about doing it by himself. Mrs. Parsons decided to let it be a, um, partner project." She said.

Daniel paled. That didn't mean anything to him, he usually did projects alone anyway. He pushed his glasses on his face again, and sighed. "O-o-okay. W-what did you need then?" He willed his lips to move.

"I offered to take you into me and Tuck's group if that's okay. We didn't want you to have to be alone." She whispered. "I know that you have anxiety about this stuff, I was just wondering if you were okay with that."

Daniel didn't know what to say, so he didn't. He nodded his head. "O-oh. Th-Thank you."

"My name is Sam. Sam Manson. Tucker Foley is the other in our group." She, Sam, told him.

Daniel tried to smile, a small smile carefully place on his lips. "J-just tell me whenever y-you want to meet up for the p-project." He told her, turning around and walking away.

"No problem, Daniel." She called back, her footsteps going the opposite directions.

Daniel James Fenton had no friends.

Why did he get the feeling that that wouldn't be the case for long?

/

Daniel opened the door to his house early, his teachers just allowing him to skip class for he had the highest marks in class. His mother was in the kitchen, tinkering with a device. "Hey Dannyboy! How was school."

"Fine…." He sighed in relief, happy to have someone he was comfortable with talking to, his stutter disappearing. He shrugged out of his backpack.

"Classes are still too easy for me. Project in Astronomy…." Danny paused, taking a deep breath, just the thought of Sam and Tucker made him feel anxious.

"I have to be in a group." He told her. His mother looked up in concern. "You going to be okay?" She asked. He nodded. "The girl who approached me in the hallway told me she knows that I have bad anxiety about stuff, makes me think Mrs. Parson let it slip when she announced groups." I rolled my eyes.

His mom looked up at him again. "I'm very proud of you, Danny." She smiled, patting his hand with her own. "Get to your homework." She winked. Danny rolled his eyes.

"Okay, mom." He said, picking up his bag and heading down to the lab to visit with his father.

"Hey Danny!" Jack called to his son, who made his way carefully down the stairs. "Hey dad." Danny waved, setting up at his desk.

"Your sister never comes home early from school anymore." Jack pointed out quietly. Danny looked up, his pencil still going in his hand.

"She has a project she's working on with Jess." Danny told him, and Jack nodded.

"How was school today, D?" Jack finally asked. "The usual." Danny stated simply, focusing on his physics homework.

Suddenly, the alarm started blaring in the lab. Jack turned sharply to look at the portal, the green depths seeming to jump out. "Daniel, get your mother." He said darkly. Danny jumped up and rushed up the stairs to grab his mother.

Daniel slowly turned towards the lab, hearing the sounds of his parents fighting the ghost. He told himself not to get involved. 'Danny you aren't needed.'

He heard a gasp and a thud, His mind racing. His mother came up the stairs, looking irate and concerned. "The ghost got loose in the town." His mother said guilty. Danny nodded. "Want me…?" He asked, but she just glared.

"Daniel, don't. Your father and I will find a cure to your condition. Don't give in to the cold temptation it brings." She told me with a glare, but stalked off to her room to grab her teal jumpsuit.

Danny sighed and rubbed his face with his hands. His father came up seconds later to join her, already donned in his jumpsuit.

"Stay put, Daniel." He told me, the cold, angry look also in his eyes. Daniel looked down at his shoes, not able to look his parents in the eyes. The front door shut and Daniel finally looked up, his face full of sorrow and confusion.

Daniel James Fenton had no friends. He was not normal.

/

He was part ghost.

It had been a bad lab accident, his parents told him. Daniel used to help out with the ghost projects, his mind sharp for anything science or math. Jasmine would sit on the sidelines for input, but Daniel usually ran the show. It had been a construction error, he had told his parents. The on switch had been put on the inside. When going into the portal to see if he could indeed fix it, he tripped and turned it on.

He came out only half human. His parents called him an abomination that first year, his mind thick with verbal abuse from his parents. Not the best fifteenth birthday, since his parents gave him something to limit his faulty powers. He grew smarter, and taller. His eyesight was still poor, but that was fine.

He never went ghost like he used to when he was fourteen. His parents didn't even know what his ghost half looked like. They had seen nothing, because they suppressed the memory. They didn't want to see their son become something they hated.

He kept the cold away, but could feel his powers grow as he aged. He grew taller, but his confidence remained small because of his parents.

Danny thought about this as he wrote his English essay. What it would be like if he had been accepted. His ghost half could do great things. Save people.

Danny remembered he always felt confident in the air. He hadn't gone flying in two years. He kept the urges down, but always wanted to soar again. He sighed, typing fingers pausing as he remembered the cool wind blowing back his white bangs that late September day, the last flight he took.

He swiveled around in his desk chair, gazing longingly at the sky, when the door to his room burst open and his mother was standing, covered in ectoplasm. "Dinner is ready if your homework is complete." She told him, looking him up and down. Her eyes lost the motherly warmth each time his ghost was brought up. It angered him to no end. It wasn't his fault he was this way.

He sighed and hopped from the chair, eyes going back to the sky, feeling constricted and trapped.

"Danny…..we will fix you." She whispered, looking him in the eyes. Her eyes were the hardest part, Danny decided.

"And if you can't?" Daniel asked. "It's not probable you will find a cure since we don't know exactly what cause this mutation." He said, "And it is also probable that, since I've lived three years with it attached to me, I would be killed at any attempt to remove it." He said, his voice analytical and cold as he told her the facts.

His mother sighed. "Then I don't know what we'll do, Daniel."

He was always Daniel in these moments. Never Danny.

Danny nodded, and walked past her, not letting her grab at him with apologetic hands. He knew his place in the family by now.

Jazz sat at the dinner table with their father, talking about some early college psychology program being offered at CHS.

"Danny! Did you finish your homework?" He asked. Jack was the more forgiving of the two parents. He nodded and sat down next to his sister, who grabbed his hand and squeezed. His sister knew how much it actually bothered him that they didn't accept something that had been apart of him for three years. Blindedly searching for a cure that could kill him.

They ate dinner in silence. Those silent dinners were not fun to Danny. His parents only making conversation with Jazz about school somewhat of the time to make it not seem awkward. When Danny finished his plate, he looked to his mother for confirmation that he could leave. "You are excused." She said, her eyes downcast at her own untouched potatoes. He got up sharply and went to leave, not looking back at his family that could never truly accept him.

He went up his steps and quietly closed the door to his room, where he spent most of his time alone, honing his abilities in his human form. He sat back down at his computer, where a notification popped up that he had an email. Puzzled, he click on the link. Nobody ever emailed him.

_To: dfenton fentworks_

_From: smanson casperhigh_

_Daniel,_   
_Hey! Sorry to intrude on your emails, but I need to know if you are okay with meeting up in the library before first period to discuss the project. Tucker can only meet in the mornings because of Tech Club after school, so its the best I could do!_

_Thanks!_   
_Sam._

Daniel's eyes flicked through the screen, catching on the name and the email. Sam Manson.

Something about her intrigued him. She was the first to openly talk to him, albeit in an empty hallway. He click the reply tab, and was about to type out a reply, when small knocks tapped on his door.

He turned towards the offending piece of wood, and muttered, "Come in."

His sister walked carefully through the door, shutting it softly. "Hey, little brother." She whispered, not wanting our parents to hear this conversation. I sighed and looked at her, not wanting to show any emotion.

"What did they do this time?" She asked. Jazz always knew when something was wrong with the family. Danny smiled bitterly at the thought that Jazz would make an excellent Psychiatrist.

"Usual. I was an idiot and forgot that if I offer to help with anything, powers or no powers, Mom gets cold and analytical. She can't even look at me without seeing a monster Jazz, how am I supposed get through you leaving for Harvard next month?" He asked her, eyes showing sadness beneath the frames.

She frowned. "I just wish that they would accept you. It's not healthy for you to keep all this in." She told him.

"You think I don't wish for either of those things? Do you know how badly I just want to leave? To take to the skies and never come back?" He asked her, eyes filling up with tears. "They would just hunt me down and force me to be their perfect genius son again, find a cure for my powers, and kill me in the process of having them removed. They would talk about how it was for science, and they'd get away with my murder Jazz. I can't do this anymore!" He wheezed, chest tightening in the beginnings of a panic attack.

Daniel collapsed on the floor, unaware that he had even gotten up from his seat, and curled his legs inward. He heard his sister's voice in the background, telling him he needed to breath. He would pass out at this rate, from hyperventilating. His parents would take him for more medication that would just make his world blurry and his brain dumb. He took a deep breath, trying to stop the mild panic attack from escalating.

"There you go, calm down….how long have you been holding that in?" She asked him. He laughed bitterly, tears still falling down his pale cheeks. "Three years."

_To: smanson casperhigh_

_From: dfenton fentworks_

_Sam,_

_That works for me. I get to school early anyway._

_Daniel_

Danny clicked send after his short reply, still not knowing what to say even if they weren't in person. Jazz had finally left him alone after he calmed down. He sighed, his eyes feeling irritated and red. He hated crying.

His glasses laid abandoned on the desk next to his Physics book as he got up to go to his bathroom. The freedom of having his own shower was something he never took for granted. He locked his bedroom door and walked swiftly to his shower, turning it on and letting it heat up. Hoping he had it at the right setting to be lukewarm, he stripped out of his sweater, khakis, and socks, leaving him in his boxers in front of the mirror.

He wasn't bad looking. He was skinny, but not lanky. He had a lithe, graceful appearance that he hid under clothes just a bit too big.

He ditched the boxers and stepped under the spray, wincing when the water was still a bit too hot. Hot showers had bothered him since the accident, making him believe his ice core applied to his human half as well.

He sighed and scrubbed himself clean, feeling tired and drained from the day. He can't do this anymore, he told himself again, staring at the water running down the drain. Suds left his body and he turned up the heat on the water, letting himself be more than uncomfortable.

He didn't deserve this, he thought.

Daniel James Fenton was a freak. He had no friends, and his family didn't accept him.

But goddamnit, he didn't deserve it.


	2. The Normal Day with The Horrible End

When Daniel opened his eyes once more, it was still dark outside. His room was sheathed in shadows, with the pale setting moon shining on the floor. He glanced at the alarm clock on his bedside table. 5 a.m, He rubbed his eyes, the room slightly blurry. What had woken him up?

He heard the crash again, this time coming from the living room at the bottom of the stairs. He wasn’t scared per say, but he could heard his father's heavy snores coming from the bedroom, matching his mother's heavy sighs.

It wasn’t his parents making all that noise, so who was? His heart beat wildly in his chest. He got up and silently padded towards the door to his bedroom, his door barely squeaking as it opened. His hand paused as he saw a dark shadow leave his living room and into the kitchen. Daniel gulped, and grabbed his glasses, his vision clearing. He took a deep breath and descended the staircase, coming face to face with the shadow.

“Uncle Vlad?” Daniel asked, his heart not pounding quite as hard. Vlad’s silhouette greeted Daniel’s irises.

“Hello Daniel. So sorry for waking you.” Vlad said. Daniel shrugged, pushing his glasses up his nose. “I hadn’t been sleeping well anyway.” Daniel stated, grinning as Vlad pulled him in for a hug. Danny always felt as if he shared something with Vlad, that brought their relationship closer.

“How are classes?” Vlad asked him, and they settled in at the kitchen table to exchange small talk. Danny always felt happier with Vlad.

When Daniel’s mother descended the staircase, his mood soured. Vlad sensed this, sending a questioning gaze his way. Daniel excused himself under the guise that he needed to get ready for school. Vlad nodded, his eyes telling him that they’d be talking later.

Daniel was forbidden from talking about his condition, so Vlad didn’t know. He couldn’t tell the person he trusted the most about what his parents do to him on the daily.

Danny sighed, pulling on a t-shirt and jeans, slipping on his converse as he rubbed at his head. He opted for a more relaxed look today, no doubt to just piss off his mom. He smirked at that, ruffling his hair instead of slicking it back as usual.

Putting back on his glasses, he looked at his reflection. A normal teenage boy stared back at him, his lithe body visible underneath the tighter jeans and shirt.

He shrugged on his backpack, making sure to put in all of his school work back into the bag. He gave the mirror a smirk, feeling more confident in the comfortable clothes. He would be able to blend in more, he thought to himself.

He came back down the stairs to see his sister and parents talking excitedly with Vlad. When his mom turned, her eyes nearly popped out of her head.

“Are you going to school like that? You look…”

“Normal?” Daniel finished, his eyes almost narrowing. His mom stopped and mulled it over. “Have a nice day sweety.” She said instead.

Vlad smiled at him, giving a thumbs up. He grinned back, leaving the house and getting into his car. A black ford focus, his baby. He thought to himself what would happen if he was allowed to fly to school instead. He crushed those thoughts quickly, shaking his head as he put his bag in the trunk.

Daniel hadn’t even started walking into the school yet when he got his first bit of attention. Paulina Sanchez, head cheerleader and hottest girl in school, had come up next to him and asked him if he was new.

“I haven’t seen you around before.” She said, batting her eyelashes. “It’s s-s-still me, P-Paulina.” Daniel said, watching realization pour over her latina features. “Fenton?” She asked, her posture immediately straightening, but she kept leaning on the Ford Focus.

“...Yes?” He asked, a bored expression on his face. “I’m sorry, you just look….less, weird? I guess?” She said, her latin voice pausing in the middle of the sentence.

“Y-You’re right, b-but I’m still s-same o-o-old Fenton.” He said, proud that he hadn’t stuttered as much. Paulina mulled him over for a couple more minutes, and nodded.

“See you around.” She smirked, placing her perfectly manicure hand on his shoulder, and walking away. Daniel blinked and shrugged, putting on his backpack and headed toward the library to meet up with Sam.

‘And Tucker.’ His brain corrected, but he continued walking, feeling slightly uncomfortable under the lingering stares his new appearance got.

His calculating gaze kept him on the path to the library. He opened the door, filled with nerves as he approached the table that held Sam and Tucker.

“Hey Daniel!” Sam said, her smile wide. Tucker looked up from his PDA with mild curiosity. Daniel smiled as he put down his bag, pulling out the book he had checked out from the day before. “T-That’s what I was going to use.” He said. Sam nodded, flipping through the pages.

“We have to write a five page paper on a single constellation.” Tucker told them, Sam and Daniel looking up from the book. Daniel nodded, not saying anything but already thinking of the constellation he wanted to use.

“I’m not really partial to any constellation.” Tucker shrugged, his PDA laying on the table. “Same, what are you thinking?” Sam turned to Danny. He paled a bit and almost started to stutter but took a deep breath.

“I was thinking Aquila.” He said. “It’s latin for Eagle, and it’s best viewed around this time, late summer/September.”

Sam grinned, noticing his lack of stuttering. Tucker nodded, writing down notes. “Is there any Mythology around that?” He asked Daniel.

Daniel took another deep breath. “Aquila was the eagle that in Greek mythology actually bore Ganymede up to Mt. Olympus. The eagle was also the thunderbolt carrier for Zeus.”

“How do you already know so much about this stuff?” Tucker said, fascinated. Daniel was surprised.

“Well, b-besides the fact that I’m a genius? I like space. I always dreamt of getting into the NASA space program….but I think my parents want me to stay home.” Daniel said.

Sam rolled her eyes. “Your parents aren’t going to have reign over you for long, Danny.”

Daniel’s heart skipped a beat. Sam noticed his pause at the nickname. “Sorry, Daniel, I just thought since--”

“No please, please call me Danny. Daniel is so formal.” Danny said quickly. Tucker watched this exchange. “So, Danny, you wanna hang out after school? Work on the Aquila project?” Tucker asked. Danny nodded.

“Yeah, sounds good.” Danny smiled. Sam smiled and gathered her things. “Meet by locker 342, that’s mine.” She grinned.

“My locker is 341.” Danny blushed. “I usually leave early though. My teachers don’t care if I skip, since I have the highest marks in the class.” He explained.

Tucker rolled his eyes. “Man, being a genius must be great. And coming from a family of geniuses?” Tucker smirked.

Danny kept his smile on, his eyes only conveying the apprehension for his family. Sam caught on. “I’ll see you later, Danny. If you wanna sit with us at lunch since you are staying the day, we sit outside.” She told him, walking off with Tucker in tow.

Danny took another deep breath and gave himself a metaphorical pat on the back. No stuttering? That was a personal record. Danny set his sights on Mr. Lancer’s classroom for AP Literature. He usually didn’t attend, and surprised Mr. Lancer when he walked through the door.

“Hello Daniel.” Lancer said, a small smile on the face. “Are you liking Farewell to Arms?”

“Yes, Hemingway is a brilliant author. I’ve finished already, if you have the test written up!” Daniel said. Lancer nodded. “Once I have the test, I’ll call you down during lunch.” He smiled

Danny nodded, and got out his notebook, starting to copy the notes on the board. When Danny actually went to class, the school day flew by, and soon enough it was time for lunch. Sam waited by the door after Astronomy, allowing Danny to walk with them to lunch.

Danny didn’t eat as much as everyone else, unless forced by his parents, so he scribbled in his notebook as Sam picked at a salad and Tucker munched on a burger.

“I gotta say Danny, I’m really starting to enjoy your company.” Tucker smirked. Danny lifted his eyes to examine the face of the boy in question. “That’s just cause you think I’m going to get your Calc. grade up from a C to an A.” Danny smirked. Tucker lifted his hand in a high five, meeting Danny’s hand with a sharp smack.

Sam rolled her eyes, but watched Danny carefully. Something was going on with Danny’s family, and she knew it. Maybe not as much with his family, and more so with Danny.

“Why don’t you tell us about yourself?” Sam suddenly said. “I kinda want to get to know you.” She added.

Danny blushed, but felt concerned. Why did Sam want to know?

“Well….I come from a family of geniuses, and I have a sister.” Danny shrugged. “My parents are inventors for the company GiW, but that’s top secret info.”

Oops.

“Guys in White? The ghost hunters?” Tucker’s eyes widened. “Um, yeah.” Danny said, pushing his glasses up self-consciously.

“Okay! Well, we know that you are kinda bored with school and--”

They were cut off by Danny’s phone vibrating.

_Mom [rec] where are you????????_

Danny started putting his notebooks in his bag, smiling to his acquaintances. “My mom wants me home….she usually expects me home by now.” He laughed nervously.

“Okay! We can just show up at your house after school! Fenton works sign?” Tucker asked. Danny nodded surprised. They still wanted to hang out with him, albeit with plans of working on school work. Every partner he had always wanted to work in the library or at their house.

“Okay, cool, see you then.” Danny smiled, throwing his bag over his shoulder and avoided the stares that were cast his way. Maybe dressing ‘hot’ in Paulina’s words, was not a good idea. People hadn’t left him alone, even though not many words had been said to him.

He got into his car and drove off, thoughts of purple eyes planted in his brain.

…

“Hey mom.” He sighed, looking up at the kitchen table, but not seeing anyone there. His mother’s head popped out from the kitchen with a glare. “I thought you come home after Astrology?” She said, her hands on her hips.

“I decided to stay a bit and hang out with some, um, friends.” He said. “That’s the worst excuse that I’ve ever heard. You don’t have any friends.” She deadpanned.

“Wow, thanks mom, real encouraging.” Danny rolled his eyes, dropping his bag on the couch. “I have an Astrology project with some other people.” He explained. “I was hanging out with them at lunch before I left when you asked me where I was. I didn’t know I was on such a short leash.” He snapped, crossing his arms.

“You know why we have to have you home at certain times, and you’ve never questioned us before.” His mom snapped back.

“You don’t want people to know that your genius son is actually-”

“ _Daniel Fenton_.” His mom yelled. “I needed you home today because we are starting to get somewhere with a cure. Yes, I don’t want people to know my genius son is a freak. Come down to the lab with me now.” She ordered, pointing at the door. Danny let his shame take over him. He’d never yelled at his mother before.

He followed her down the stairs and stared at the mess in front of him. The usually impeccable lab was covered in ectoplasm and scrap metal. “We are going to begin testing for a cure. Right now. Your increasing rebellious behavior means that the ghost has began to use the host body as his own.” His mother said, her voice cold and factual.

Danny sighed. He nodded. “So what? What do you want to do?” He asked. “Take some blood for today and see if we can extract the ectoplasm from the cells without destroying any remaining human parts.” His dad said, looking at bit more reluctant than his mom.

“Okay.” Danny said, not wanting to meet their eyes as he sat down in the chair. His mother tapped his arm looking for a vein as his dad pulled out a disinfected needle. Danny hated needles, he always have. His dad knew that, so he kept the sharp object out of his sights.

“After this I want you to go straight to your room and work on any homework you may have and get some rest. This may make you a bit tired as well.” His mother said, holding his arm in place as his father slid the needle in the vein.

Danny shuddered at the pain and looked away as the blood was collected in the beaker. He did take note, however, that his blood was a darker red than any other humans. “Jack? Maddie?” He heard from upstairs. His mother pressed her lips into a thin line and carefully strode up the stairs.

“Dad?” Danny asked and his father shrugged. “Vladdie wanted to have dinner tonight. We must have forgotten.” Danny nodded, okay with the answer.

“Okay. It’s a little more blood than is usually allowed to be taken from someone at a hospital, but your mother insisted keeping more samples….” His father looked away from him. Danny felt shaky and knew that his face was pale. His dad watched him in concern as he put away the instruments and helped him from the chair.

“I knew taking this much blood was a terrible idea.” He mumbled to his son. Danny nodded. “Probably.” He said, pulling away from his dad. “I got it from here.”

His dad looked a little hurt at the apprehension but nodded and went to dealing with the sample. He walked up the stairs slowly. His mother and Vlad looked to be fighting as he entered the living room. “Hey Uncle V.” He said shakily. “Daniel? My god, you look terrible.”

“Yeah, just a harsh day at school. Too much attention with the wardrobe change.” He lied badly, watching as Vlad’s eyes narrowed.

“Maddie, you aren’t telling me something about my godson and I intend to find out.” He said, crossing his arms. Danny’s eyes widened and he shifted his gaze to his mother. She was pale and nervous. “Daniel, please. Go upstairs. We’ll call you down at dinner.” She whispered. Even though only he could hear her, he nodded and climbed the stairs carefully to his room, pausing to grab his backpack.

Danny could barely keep his eyes open as soon as he sat down on his bedsheets, his eyes drooping as he stared at the floor boards. Had his parents gone a bit overboard today?

He shrugged to himself and slipped off his glasses, his vision becoming blurry as he slipped off his t-shirt and jeans, throwing on a pair of sweatpants and dipping underneath the duvet for a fitful nap.

…

“Danny?” A voice whispered, pulling him out of his dreamless sleep, he blinked his eyes open and squinted at the dark form of someone above him. He closed his eyes and felt around for his glasses, shoving them back on his face to see Sam and Tucker, looking slightly at home in his room.

“S-Sorry guys.” Danny shrugged nervously, suddenly aware of his shirtless state in front of Sam.

“No problemo dude. If I went home early every day, I’d have the best sleeping schedule known to man.” Tucker smirked at him as Danny pulled on the white t-shirt from this morning. “Your mom let us in, looking slightly surprised might I add.” Sam said, looking concerned over in Danny’s area.

Danny shrugged. “I’ve never had friends before. She was a bit mad that I had stayed at school today. She expects me home.” Danny explained.

“....We didn’t get you in trouble right?” Sam asked, pausing her digging in her backpack. Danny shook his head. “No, I haven’t been in trouble since the last time I forgot to do my homework in third grade.” Danny partially lied.

Sam caught it, narrowing her lilac eyes as she pulled out her laptop and unrolled a sheet of posterboard.

“Thought we could have some visuals with the essay.” She said, pulling out a sharpie. “I can draw up some diagrams and pictures of the constellation, and of the mythology itself.”

Tucker had already pulled out a bulky laptop, staring at Danny as he rubbed his eyes. “I can get started on the essay and you can edit as we go since I am shit at grammar?” Tuck asked.

Danny nodded and gave him his email to Tucker to share the document with him. “Daniel? Can you come down here a second?” His mother's voice wafted up from downstairs. Danny got up and stretched while walking out of his room.

“Yes?” He asked, making sure to keep his emotions toward her calm. “Are they going to stay for dinner?” She asked, a forced smile placed on her face. He shrugged. “Maybe, but probably not. They just have to work on the project with me. They probably aren’t sticking around after that.”

A trace of sympathy flashed through his mother’s eyes as she took in the information. “I know that you want more friends, but Daniel, you are just too different then the rest of them. Your….condition….”

“Yes mom, I know.” Danny snapped. “That doesn’t make me socially inept.”

“Well you do have the stutter.”

That was the last straw for Danny. “Okay, fine. Whatever. I'll just go upstairs and continue being smart ‘Daniel Fenton’ and when I’m done you can just lock me in the lab for all I care. I’m done.” Danny hissed, and swiftly walked away from his gaping mother.

He didn’t notice, however, Sam and Tucker racing back to his room, after hearing every word.

 


	3. The Slight Reveal

__

_Sam’s POV_

“What the fuck.” Tucker whispered, and I immediately shushed him as the enigma himself walked through the door. He was flushed with anger, but kept a straight face, looking expectantly at me and Tucker.

Tucker cleared his throat. “So, anything specific that you want in the essay?” Danny shrugged, not seeming to want to talk. “Anything is f-f-fine.” Danny furrowed his brows at his stutter, just looking more mad.

“Okay, and I’ll work on the art. You can proofread everything. Meet in the library tomorrow?” I asked, wanting to give him some space.

“Yeah. See you guys later.”

Tucker and I shared a look. “We can hangout a bit if you want. Not to force anything on you or anything.” Tucker said. Danny shook his head. “Nah, you don’t want to hang out with someone like me.” He whispered, but I don’t think he thought we had heard.

He instead said, more loudly this time. “It’s okay. My family is having dinner with a friend tonight.” He said, his eyes conveying that he didn’t want us to leave, but what his mom had said had hurt him.

I grabbed my stuff and said goodbye to Danny, keeping formalities with Mrs. Fenton before exiting with Tucker in tow. “Okay Sam, what the fuck.” Tucker said, falling in step with me. “Yeah..I know.” I agreed.

“What is so wrong with him that his mom would say that to him?” Tucker asked. “That was really out of line.”

“Yeah, but, we don’t know what happened to him. Everyone remembers when he was a genius, but he talked to everyone and was nice.”

“It was freshman year.” Tucker realized.

Freshman year was the year that happy go lucky Daniel Fenton, the genius who in middle school wrote four papers for 20 bucks a piece for Dash Baxter, suddenly secluded himself. He hid behind the large pair of glasses and his usually tan skin became a sickly pale. Nobody had known what happened.

“It may have something to do with his parents….” I whispered as we approached Tucker’s house.

“He was even paler today too, like...what someone looks like when they give blood.” Tucker assessed.

“You don’t think that his parents conduct experiments on him, do you?”

“No...they are too smart to do that. They are able to think ahead at anything that could go wrong with what they do. Danny does it all the time. They would know that the people would find out. It’s something else. I’ll look into it.” Tucker finally sighed.

I nodded, feeling more tired than usual. “Don’t forget to send that essay to Danny.” I told him.

“Okay mom.” Tucker rolled his eyes, shutting his front door and leaving me alone on the steps. I felt around in my pocket for my phone. Feeling nothing in my pocket, I groaned.

“Fuck me.” I said, realizing that I had left my phone on Danny’s desk in his room. I took off back to the Fenton household, pausing when I heard muffled screams through the glass of the basement window.

Chills ran down my spine as I quietly tiptoed to the alley next to the window. I knelt down on the cold stone as I peered in the window. I couldn’t see much of anything, just outlines of vast machinery and shapes of figures walking. I silently opened the window a crack, wondering why it wasn’t locked.

“Come on, Daniel, it doesn’t hurt that bad.” Danny’s mother said, guilt leaking through her tone. There was quiet sobbing coming from the lump on the floor. I realized that it was Danny.

“Mom please, I can’t do this anymore! Just let me be different!” The broken voice called out and I felt a pang go through my chest at the pain in his voice. I wished I had my phone with me to record this, because there was no way anyone would believe me.

“Daniel, we have to fix you. It’s our fault that you are this way in the first place.” Mrs. Fenton sighed. “I’d rather be different than be injected with liquified blood blossoms!” Danny spat, getting up on shaky legs. “Daniel, sit down, you’ll make your pain worse.” Jack Fenton said from his corner, his body turned so he wouldn’t have to look at his son.

“No, what’ll make my pain worse is staying here.” Danny cried out, and he took off up the stairs. I immediately gathered my things and went to the door and knocked silently, hearing a mumbled curse and footsteps leading toward the door.

I took a deep breath, and watched as Danny pulled open the door slowly. His eyes were red and skin blotchy, pain etched into his features as he tried to poorly hide it. “Are you okay?” I whispered. He shrugged. “As okay as I can get. Did you need something?” He asked, his voice tired.

“I left my phone here. On the desk.” I said, reaching out to touch the red marks that outlined his veins as if something was injected into them. “Please don’t ask.” He whispered as my fingertips grazed his skin.

“I won’t….but do you want to get out of here for a while? You can, I don’t know, walk with me through the park or something.” I whispered. “Not a good idea.” He said, leaning back and disappearing through the door. I paused as he went to his room, and came back with my phone in his hand.

“Are you sure?” I asked, worry gracing my features. He nodded, looking truly confused and unsure. “I’m sure.”

…  
 _Danny’s POV_

Fuck.

I’m not usually one to cuss, because it’s not very becoming of a person, but fucking asshole shit dick.

I closed the door on those beautiful purple eyes that saw, she saw what had happened to me.

What made me so confused, however, was not the way that she seen, but it was the way she seemed to want to protect me. I gulped in air after Sam’s footsteps led her away from the house. My arm was still on fire, and I hurried up the stairs, tripping over my own feet into my bedroom.

“Oh no, oh no, what do I do?” I whispered to myself, hearing my parents worried tones wafting from below the stairs. Mom was going to come here. She was going to come here and make me go back down to the lab and submit myself to becoming normal, which would kill me.

Not knowing what to do, I locked my door, which was pointless. My mom could unlock it using the key that's just above my door. I panicked. Why am I so scared of my own mother? She was doing this to protect me!

But was she? All of the facts pointed to that she just wanted a perfect genius son to bring pride back to the Fenton family. She would never love me truly until what she hated was gone.

I took a deep breath, knowing what I had to do. I willed myself to find that cold spot next my heart. The cold spot that my mother didn’t know about, because I knew she would remove it.

I gripped that cold spot hard with my subconscious and felt the light that started at my waist, travel upwards to my head, and downwards to my feet, transforming myself into my parent's worst enemy.

I shifted my eyes towards the mirror, seeing the stark white hair and glowing green eyes, the ominous glow of my entire body illuminating the previously dark room. I felt like I was breaking the law, but I felt so so free. I willed myself to not laugh but cracked a smile, watching as the ghost in the mirror lit up with joy.

My mother’s footsteps were closer, her delicate steps making a small tap on the stairs. I unlocked the door and opened the window. As the doorknob turned, and my mother's foot visible to me, I shot out the window and into the air, gasping as I flew at top speed away from my home.

The view was breathtaking. I could see everything. The school, my house, and the large park. I flew forward, feeling the wind nip at my cheeks. My hair dangled in my face, and it took some time to get used to the white locks. I pushed off a building and flipped through the air, landing delicately on the edge of a skyscraper, sitting down and swinging my leg on the edge. I watched the sunset from here, feeling at ease for the first time in months.

I saw the Fenton RV driving through town, frantically driving and looking for me. I sighed, my moment of peace gone. I stood and kicked into the air again, flying towards my home. I flew back into my window, transforming back into normal old me.

I sighed, feeling gravity thicken over my body. I sat down at my desk and looked at my left arm, eyes widening as the red lines where the blood blossoms had been were suddenly gone. As if transforming into my ghost form had healed my arm.

I shook my head and got to editing and adding things to Tucker’s essay, as he angrily commented I was a grammar nazi (saying “Your a grammar nazi!” to which I replied “You’re (;”). I laughed and immediately got a skype notification from Tucker, and answered, still laughing to myself.

We worked on the essay until my mother burst into the room, causing me to jump and look at her. “Yeah mom?” I asked, putting on the facade I had grown used to.

“Oh, nothing. Didn’t know you had gotten home.”

“Dude, will you help me with Calc next?” Tucker’s voice said from my computer, and I watched my mother's face transform into realization. She smiled a small smile and nodded. “I’ll talk to you later.” She said.

I took a deep breath as she closed the door, minimizing the essay and Tucker’s face popped into view. “You okay man?”

“Getting there, Tuck.” I sighed, running my hands through my hair and shoving my glasses back on my face. “So Calculus?” I grinned.

Tucker’s worried expression transformed into happiness.

…

The next day I woke up early, and the smell of pancakes hit my nostrils. I narrowed my eyes. I got up and threw on a CHS sweatshirt and jeans, and I was lacing up my sneakers when there were light knocks on my bedroom door. My mother approached me, holding her hands in front of her, clasped tightly. “I made you breakfast….though I realize with your condition you may not be hungry right now, and that’s okay…” She sighed, her face contorting to sorrow and confusion.

I smoothed out my sweatshirt and continued packing for school, shoving my laptop in my bag, and glasses on my face. “I just want to understand what you feel on a daily basis.” She whispered, staying near the doorway. I didn’t answer, just kept gathering my things.

“Daniel please! Don’t hold back, tell me how you are! Talk to me!”

“Try to get to know me as your son rather than a lab project!” I suddenly shouted, the room dropping several degrees. My mother shivered in fear and cold, and I tried to keep myself in control. “How long have you been doing that?” She asked, apprehension in her eyes.

“You mean the cold thing? Since I was in the accident!” I said, and I could feel energy flickering throughout my body. Transforming yesterday was a mistake, and I won’t be able to keep my powers below the surface. “I can usually control them more, but not when people are making me mad. I need to get to school.”

“The tests we’ve been running, we haven’t gotten far at all. Everything we try, your human cells disappeared with them. We’ve tried everything we can think of but nothing works, and here you are, getting worse and worse.”

“Maybe I’m just evolving into what I’m supposed to be! Normal! Not some stuck up genius kid stuck in a stupid town all of his life.” I snapped, my grip tightening on my backpack. The temperature of the room continued to drop steadily, as though the madder I got, the colder it got.

“Daniel, you won’t be able to leave with your--”

“I HAVE GHOST POWERS MOM! DEAL WITH IT!” I shouted and pushed past her, running out the door and slamming it behind me. Passerbys looked at me in confusion, but continued walking as I got into my car and tried to keep my breathing under control.

I started my car and made my way towards the school, stopping at a stop sign were Sam was waiting. She perked up when she saw me, her hand coming up in a wave. “D-Do you need a ride to s-s-school?” I asked, blushing slightly at the stutter. She looked grateful and immediately got in the passenger seat. “Tucker will be pissed, but I don’t really care.” She said, relaxing in the seat.

I chuckled and slowly pulled towards the school, the two of us sitting in silence before I broke it. “So, why do you want to get to know me so bad?”

I surprised even myself when the words escaped my lips. “You intrigue me, Danny.” She shrugged. “I’ve always wanted to get to know you since middle school, but you changed after, and became more reserved. No one, I think, knew how to approach you without you running away.”

I sighed, knowing every word was true. “You can get to know me now….” I smiled sheepishly. “I can’t wait.” She whispered. “What happened in your lab accident?” She asked, suddenly, paling when she realized what she said.

“....I’m good with inventions and I used to help with my parents inventions before I got shocked by one.” I told her. She nodded, satisfied. “Did it affect your speech? Not to be rude, but you never used to stutter.”

“Possibly. We aren’t really sure. Maybe I just have deep rooted self-confidence issues, who knows.” I said.

“Well, I think you are great, Danny.” She said. “I’ve always--Nevermind.” She said, looking away and blushing.

“N-no, you don’t get to look away and not answer. I’ve a-already spilled m-my guts to you.” I said, only slightly irritated. She sighed. “I’ve always wanted to, be your friend.” She said quickly, making me realize that that wasn’t what she had wanted to say.

I was going to say something about it, but Tucker was suddenly in the backseat at the stoplight we were stopped at. “Hey guys, sorry. I didn’t feel like walking anymore.” He said, looking winded. I bit my lip and laughed lightly. “You just scared me.” I said, dropping the subject with Sam, but looking back at her face, noticing the light blush on her cheeks as she looked out the window.

I pulled into the school, and the three of us piled out of the car and into the school, as I continued to feel cold.

I shouldn’t have transformed. I thought to myself. I looked over to Sam, and my face grew paler as I started panicking.

I was making the environment colder, and the window even fogged up as I passed it. Sam started shivering and Tucker saw his breath.

As I stood there, not feeling cold but noticing that people were shivering, I realized I had let too much power out. I shouldn’t have transformed and I’m a monster.

I stopped in my tracks with a pained expression. “Danny, what’s wrong?” Sam asked, rubbing her arms.

“What the hell, can someone please turn up the heat?” Dash’s voice came to me from down the hall.

I looked at Sam, laughed awkwardly. “I forgot something in my car, I’ll be back…” I whispered, and bolted out the door.

Sam’s POV

I had noticed it started getting colder the more Danny had started panicking. Had he been manipulating the temperature somehow?

When he ran out the door back to his car, the air immediately warmed up, and Tucker and I shared a glance. I watched has Danny’s black car left the parking lot and went home.

“What did he do?” Tucker whispered. “I have to tell you something.” I said, dragging him by the arm into the janitor's closet by Lancer’s classroom.

“Yesterday I left my phone at Danny’s house and went back to get it. Danny’s parents had him in the basement and were experimenting on him with something. You could see it on his arm when you got close enough and he was scared. Terrified of his parents. He sobbed and cried, and his mom didn’t even care! Something is going on Tuck, and I think it has something to do with his accident and how he made it colder today the more he panicked.”

Tucker sat in silence as he pondered the information. “Sam that is a big theory. What if you are wrong?”

“If I’m wrong, I will give you my allowance for two months. Enough to get you that new PDA and pay off your other ones.” I deadpanned. He looked up in surprise. “So what do you want to do?”

“I need to know what Blood Blossoms are.” I told him. “That’s what they were injecting him with.”

“Blood Blossoms? Sounds like a plant, don’t you think?” He said, whipping out his PDA and typing. “Yeah, but they were liquified, and caused major irritation to the vein.”

“There isn’t much...mostly vampire stuff….Do you think Fenton is a vam--”

“Don’t even finish that sentence if you value your life. He’s not a supernatural creature.” I rolled my eyes.

“The only information there is, is an article from the Guys in White, a government organization. But it’s blocked to the public.” Tucker sighed.

“....Any lore or mythology?” I asked. “Maybe…” Tucker looked conflicted. “Everything about it has been blocked by the Guys in White. You need to work for the Government to access anything having to do with the plant Blood Blossoms. Google doesn’t even work.” Tucker said.

“If there is mythology, then there is a book. Come on.” I said, and I pulled him along towards the library, class seeming to be less important to us both.

I felt protective of Danny now, like whatever happened to him, had something to do with me. Like our fates were intertwined.

I’m just being a fucking cliche, I swear to god.

 


	4. Research, Theft, and Unwarrented Gunshots

_Danny’s POV_

I rushed home as soon as I could, deciding school was less important (for once in my life). If I froze everyone to death, I would be the monster that my mom always knew I would become. I exited the car, feeling more panicked as I noticed the frost building on the window. My mom immediately stopped eating her breakfast as she saw me enter the house, her face becoming worried and calculating.

“Daniel?” She asked.

“I’m making everything cold and I don’t know how to stop it.” I said, hyperventilating. She got up and felt the climate change. “Come down to the lab, hurry.” She said. I asked no questions, and just followed her. Down to the place where I vowed I would never go willingly.

She pulled a level on the wall adjacent to the one I was standing by. Frost was steadily climbing my clothes and I started shivering. “Do you have any idea what would’ve happened if you had stayed in school? You could have killed everyone.” She hissed, a clear box coming up from the floor. Inside was hollow, for keeping things inside.

“Unfortunately, until you can get this under control, you will need to stay in here while we figure out what to do. We don’t want you freezing the town.” My mother's eyes flickered to my own, and I walked slowly towards the prison. I knew I shouldn’t have come home.

If you hadn’t transformed, this wouldn’t be happening. She’s right. You are a monster.

I entered the cage as the thought echoed around my head, seeming to be bigger every time I thought about it. She closed the door behind me, gave me one more look of disgust, and left the lab with me in it. The box probably contained ghost energy, meaning I couldn’t phase out even if I wanted to. The lab light above me flickered as I leaned against the wall, my breath coming in short gasps.

_You are a monster._

In my mind, My mother's cold, clinical eyes searched me, and I could practically feel the hate and mistrust leaving them.

This wouldn’t be happening if you were normal.

I closed my eyes and fisted my hands in my hair, sliding down the wall and pulling my knees to my chest. I felt my eyes burn and knew that I was going to cry. I tried to pull myself together, but a tear slipped through my lashes and a sob wracked my body. I didn’t deserve this, to be locked in a box by my mother. Not when I came home so she could help me.

I continued to cry, and the glass box started to freeze over. It was freezing inside, but I wasn’t uncomfortable. My tears continued, but I looked around me at the frost covering the walls of the cell, and watched as I couldn’t see the lab anymore.

_Normal people can’t do this._

I nodded to myself, and the demonic voice inside my head. Normal people can’t do this.

But even in my tender moment of fear and self-loathing, I couldn’t deny how beautiful the frost was.

And that I had made something this beautiful.

///

_Sam’s POV_

Tucker and I were camped in the library, and with the permission from our teachers, we poured over every botany and mythology book on campus. “I’m not finding anything.” Tucker groaned. “Books are supposed to store ancient knowledge, why have you mislead me?”

“Tucker, these are more current…” I rolled my eyes. I looked over to Mrs. Chap, and walked over. “Hi, I was wondering if you knew anything about the plant, Blood Blossoms?” I asked. Mrs. Chap looked confused and flustered. “I demand to know why you need to know this information.” She said.

“....We are doing a project and we thought we saw something in our mythology about it.” I gulped, never having seen Mrs. Chap so emotional.

“I know a thing or two, but I know that the mythology part is a lie….have you been...talking to ghosts?” Mrs. Chap asked.

“...No.” I said, confusion set over my features. Mrs. Chap sighed and got up, the first time I’ve seen her leave the chair since my freshman year. “Follow me.” She said, and she went to the back room. I sighed and followed her anyway, almost running into her as she appeared suddenly with an old book in her hand. “My son told me to take this out of the library. I saw you get Daniel out of his shell, so I’m giving it to you. I’m worried about that boy. He’s too hard on himself.” Mrs. Chap sighed.

“I know, Mrs. Chap. He’s really hard to read.” I told her. “He could be an open book for the right person.” She smiled. “I just hope that you continue to reach out to him.” She patted my shoulder and shooed me out of the room.

I clutched the book to my chest and went back to Tucker, who sat looking at me with an eyebrow raised. “What?” I demanded. “The things you do for love.” He winked.

“What do you mean?” I demanded, glaring harshly at him. “I’m just saying, I think you have a thing for Fenton.” He smirked.

“...Maybe so what?” I grumbled and his face brightened even more. “I knew it!”

“He’s just interesting….and kind, and sweet.” I said, opening up to him, and he looked overjoyed. “I ship it so hard.” He groaned.

“But this isn’t about me. This is about the potential abuse that Danny could be facing at home. This would be easier if we knew what his ‘condition’ was.” I groaned, placing the book in front of us.

“A History of the Ghost Zone? What the hell is the ghost zone?” I asked Tucker. “No idea…” Tucker said, confused, but he opened the book anyway.

“The Ghost Zone is a supernatural universe where the deceased, who are unable to move on, occupy.” I read aloud. Tucker groaned. “I really didn’t need a mythology lesson.” He said.

“What do his parents do for a living anyway that they have a lab in their basement?” Tucker asked. I shrugged. “Scientists maybe?”

I flipped through the pages and stopped on a picture of a blood red rose with thorns. “Blood Blossom…” Tucker whispered.

“The Blood Blossom plant is a naturally grown Anti-Ghost remedy. Similar to Ectoranium, the Blood Blossom is harmful if it comes into contact with ectoplasm, the common makeup of ghosts. The difference between Ectoranium and Blood Blossoms is that Blossoms do not have to come in contact with the ghost to do harm.” Tucker read for me. “You’re completely sure that you heard him say liquified Blood Blossoms right?” Tucker asked.

I nodded. “But what does this mean? Why would liquified blood blossoms hurt him?”

“I guess we need to know exactly what the Fenton’s do for a living.” Tucker said, closing the books in front of him and going to put them away. I shoved A History into my bag and zipped it up. I got up out of my chair and followed Tucker to class.

“Did you find what you needed?” Mr. Lancer asked us, stopping his lecture. “Yes, sir.” I said, sitting down.

“That’s all the notes you will be taking today, students. Mr. Foley, Ms. Manson, could you come to my desk please?” He asked.

Tucker and I groaned and placed our bags down at our seats before going back to his desk. “I’ve noticed you two spending more time with Mr. Fenton. I would like to thank you for reaching out to him.That aside, in class you missed that Principal Ishiyama wants the junior class to learn more about the town and the people that live here. A project you guys will be doing is to interview some citizens and ask what they do for a living.” Lancer finished. “You may ask other questions as well, but try not to make it too personal.”

Tucker and I looked at each other in awe. “Okay, any citizen?” I asked. Lancer nodded. “Yes. There is a list of people you may choose from, but if you already know who you would like to interview, try to make it so you don’t know them. Try to avoid interviewing students and your own parents.” Lancer said, and shooed us away.

“After this class, lets go bail and interview Danny’s parents.” Tucker said. I sighed. “That seems like it would be too easy. Danny is there and would probably get suspicious.” I said.

“Not if he was acting weird. If what you are saying is right, he is either locked somewhere, or didn’t go home.” Tucker said. I nodded. “Okay.”

///

We waited impatiently for the bell to ring, and eagerly got up and headed towards the door of the school. We headed towards the FentonWorks building, and I sighed to see the same basement window that I had snooped at the other day. “That’s where I saw it. The window was unlocked so I was able to hear what was being said. Danny was also screaming his words, so I know that I heard what I heard.” I told Tucker.

He looked troubled for a second before shaking his head and heading towards the front door. I knocked timidly and waited anxiously for one of them to open the door.

Mrs. Fenton quietly and slowly opened the door to size us up. “Can I help you two?” She asked, her gaze unwavering. “Hi, it’s Sam and Tucker, Danny’s friends--”

“Daniel is unable to hang out today, he’s sick.” She said, her face hardening when I mentioned her son. Weird. I thought.

“Yeah I know, we actually wanted to talk to you.” Tucker finished for me. She seemed surprised and then she seemed fearful.

“What did he tell you?” She asked, as she dragged us through the door. “Nothing? We have a project for school that we have to interview citizens on what they do for a living, etc, and we were wondering if we could interview you.” Tucker said, his voice confused.

Her mouth formed an O and she smiled awkwardly. “Thank you for choosing the Fenton’s. I’m sure you guys are lovely friends for my son.” She said, but I could tell she was hiding something.

“We were just wondering what you guys do for a living. The FentonWorks building is basically a mystery in Amity Park.” Tucker started, already typing on his laptop. I got out the questions Tucker and I had hastily prepared so we would be able to leave school early to interview them (and get more information on what might be wrong with Danny).

“Well…” We all jumped when we heard a bang from the lap, followed by a hiss. Tucker and I looked at each other in worry.

“Sorry, that has to do with what Jack and I do. We are Ghost Hunters.” Mrs. Fenton said. Tucker and I instantly looked at each other. “Ghost hunters, Mrs. Fenton?” Tucker asked.

“I know that you may not believe yet, but trust us when we say, that we have opened a portal into the Ghost Zone.”

Suddenly, the book in my backpack seemed a lot more important than originally. “Wow, how cool. I’m a major lover of anything supernatural.” I said, feigning excitement. I brought out my phone. “Would you mind if I took pictures of you and Mr. Fenton, possibly in your lab?”

I tried hard to look innocent, but by her flustered expression, I still looked suspicious. “...Let me go see if Jack has cleaned recently down there. Wouldn’t want you guys exposed to Ecto-Radiation!” She smiled, and walked to the door, unlocked it, and disappeared down the stairs.

“Tucker, what the fuck.” I whispered to him. He was paler than usual. “If...If Danny is--”

“Stop. Hold on a moment, Ghost Zone? There is no way any of these things exist.” Tucker said.

“Tucker, this book is ancient, and they know everything in it.” I hissed, and quieted down as soon as Mrs. Fenton came back up. “It’s safe to come down here.” She said, motioning us towards the door. Tucker and I stood and followed her down the metal staircase, and I was immediately overwhelmed by the size of their lab.

“Woah.” Tucker gasped. “This is incredible. Is that the portal?” He asked, pointing to the large, circular object on the far wall. “Yes, this is the Fenton Portal!” A large, booming voice said from behind us. Danny’s father was behind us, tinkering with a device. Next to him were jars of a red substance, almost like blood, but darker.

“Hi, Mr. Fenton, we were just learning about your guy’s profession!” I smiled, my eyes shifting towards the box in the middle of the room. It looked to be frosted over, and was unable to be seen through. Something in my gut told me something was wrong.

“Splendid!” Mr. Fenton smiled, pulling my eyes back to his face. He was about to continue speaking when the phone rang. “I’ll get it hun.” He told his wife, and raced up the stairs. Tucker went to ask Mrs. Fenton another question, but Mr. Fenton’s voice cut him off.

“Honey, they want to talk to both of us!”

Mrs. Fenton excused herself, reminding us not to touch anything without them present and raced up the stairs behind him.

“Okay, we have five minutes to find anything we need.” I whispered, quietly walking around on the tile floor. My eyes kept shifting towards the large box in the center of the room, the one that seemed to emit cold when close.

“I really don’t want to know what is in there.” Tucker said, flipping through their files. “Hey, there is a file on Danny in here.” He whispered, pulling it out. As Tucker said, D.Fenton was scrawled on the front in hasty looking writing. Green and red stains covered the front of the file, making Tucker and I wonder what could be on it.

I slipped the file in my bag with little protest from Tucker, taking a few pictures, and finishing the interviews with Mr. and Mrs. Fenton.

They answered enthusiastically about their profession, but when we ever mentioned their family, hell if we ever mentioned Danny, they would become cold and off putting. I ended the interview short.

“Thank you, that’s all we needed. Tell Danny we said to Get Well Soon.” I enunciated the Get Well Soon, watching as Mr. Fenton’s face contorted into guilt, and Mrs. Fenton refused to show any emotions.

Tucker and I left the house, Danny’s file still secure in my backpack, and rushed to my home. “Did you have a good day Samantha?” My mother called out to me. “Yes! Thank you! See you at dinner!” I called out, and rushed up the stairs with Tucker in tow.

“We stole from Danny’s house, that is THEFT!” Tucker panicked. He had barely been able to pull it together during the rest of the interview, preferring to go ahead and write down the answers rather than ask the questions. I pulled out the book and Danny’s file and placed it on my desk.

“Everything we haven’t thought of being wrong with him is in this.” Tucker sighed, lightly ghosting a finger down the file. I placed my hands on the desk and went to open the folder.

///

Danny’s POV

I waited patiently in my cell, playing with my breath because I could see it. My parents hadn’t checked on me in a while, and I had thought I had heard other voices in the lab at one point. Especially after my parents left the room.

I had willed the curiosity away, playing the frost on the walls instead of investigating. If it was someone unfriendly, I wouldn’t want them to see me in a cell that was coated in frost.

My core wasn’t slowing down the cold process, and I was starting to give up hope when my mother, bundled up in a coat and scarf over her jumpsuit, entered the cell.

“....You can come out now.” She mumbled. “The only thing for you to do is to release some of your ice powers, and hope for the best.” She sighed. She put on her goggles and stood in the corner. “Just aim away from me. The best way to conduct research now is to watch how you use your powers.”

“Mom, I haven’t used them! I don’t know how!” I slightly lied. I knew how to use them in the ghost form that my parents didn’t know that I had. I didn’t know how to use them as a human.

“Just try to expel all the cold out, I guess.” She shrugged. “I don’t know what to tell you.” She said, disgust plain in her eyes. She was trying to hide it, but was doing a bad job of it.

“Mom…” I sighed, feeling my breath escape my lips and float upwards. Her eyes watched it, looking sad as it reached the top.

“Use them.” She suddenly snapped. I jumped back in surprise. “I just told you I don’t know how!” I glared.

She rolled her eyes. “Use them. You say that they are apart of you, so use them!” She yelled at me. I started to get upset, feeling the temperature drop even more. I wasn’t mad, I was sad.

“DANNY USE THEM!” She shouted, wiping out a gun and pointing it at me. I froze in my place, staring at the gun pointed at my chest.

She energized it, and continued to point it at me. I raised my hands. “Mom, please stop!” I cried, tears starting to roll down my face out of fear.

She fired and I suddenly brought ice up in front of me to catch the blast. A piece of the ice broke off and struck me across the face. I cried out, feeling blood start to flow down my face.

My mom sighed. “There you go...You should be fine now.” She said, and left the lab. I sat on the ground of the cell behind the ice wall and covered my face in my hands, feeling blood continue to well out of the cut on my face.

I got up and raced to my room, ignoring my sister's protests and my dad’s confused questions. I locked myself in my room and vowed that I would never, ever, come to my mother for help again.

That if I had to, I would defend myself in every I knew how.

  


 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> leave a comment to let me know if you are enjoying :)


	5. The File and the Bromance

///

_Sam’s POV_

The first thing in the file, was a picture. It was yellow and looked aged, of a baby Danny in his father's arms. Strange stains, possibly from tears, were on the photo. Like someone had cried in memory of the boy on the picture. His mother was in the background, asleep.

Tucker and I looked at each other, not speaking. We looked back down at the photo, moving it aside carefully, as if we would damage it if we were forceful. The next page was a hospital analysis, labeled January 7th, 1998.

_Certificate of Birth_  
Name: Daniel James Fenton  
Parents: Madeline Renee Fenton and Jack Wesley Fenton  
Hospital: Amity Memorial Hospital

“Why do they keep his birth certificate in the file?” Tucker asked, his voice a quiet whisper. He was shaking, out of fear or anticipation….I wasn’t sure.

I moved the birth certificate to the side, holding my breath as a different hospital analysis came up. This one from just two years ago.

_Patient: Daniel James Fenton_  
Analysis: Internal bleeding in various places, scarring on his vocal tissue, possibly from screaming. Electrocution scars on back and chest, and on various appendages. Seemingly asleep, but will twitch from time to time.  
Report:  
Daniel was helping his parents out in their Ghost Hunting Laboratory, and stepped inside the portal to get a closer look to see why it wasn’t working. Tripping over wires, he hit the on button on the inside. Neither Madeline or Jack know how long he was in there, claiming time slowed when he was screaming.  
They seem to be under major duress, hoping that their son will wake up soon. There are slight hints of some substance in his blood, but no major symptoms arise that need looking after. When he wakes up, he may experience permanent disabilities, such as a stutter or possibly be unable to speak, due to the scarring of the vocal tissue and the prolonged electrocution.  
  
Tucker and I paused as I read the report. “He was inside that huge machine when it turned on?” Tucker asked me. I groaned in frustration.

“I feel terrible that this happened to him, but there is nothing on this page about the condition his parents constantly beat him up for.” I said.

Tucker read over the report, his eyes lighting up. “Slight hints of some substance in his blood.” He pondered. “Maybe he has something in his blood?”

“Possibly.” I sighed. I didn’t get it. Nothing in this file made it seem like he was some freak of nature. He was just a kid that got electrocuted and could have died. That would have made me appreciate his life that much more.

I set that aside with his birth certificate and the picture, coming across what looked to be a typed journal entry.

Tucker beat me to it, grabbing the paper and reading it quickly. I looked at the pictures underneath the paper, gasping as there was a picture of Danny, strapped to a chair, crying, while his eyes glowed neon green.

“Sam, he apparently started showing signs of ‘a ghostly entity harboring his body’. Now I don’t know what the hell that means…”

I held up the picture. “Meaning he has a ghost in his body? I know a little bit about Overshadowing from that book over there, but he wouldn’t have a stutter. It would be the ghost’s voice.” I told him.

“Maybe the ghost had the stutter?” Tucker offered. “No...The doctor’s report clearly stated that Danny would possibly have a stutter.”

“If his parents are ghost hunters….and he has ghost energy inside him or something, then they are experimenting on him.” I decided.

Tucker sighed, moving the pictures and coming across another report, from a few days earlier. “ _Danny believes that the ghost is apart of him, and every attempt to get rid of the mutation would end up killing him. He firmly believes that we should accept him for who he is, rather than try to fix him._

_I firmly believe that while this ghost may be wearing my son's face, it is trying to save its own skin, using my son’s voice. I have no sympathy for this ectoplasmic entity. It needs to be destroyed._

_Dr. Madeline Fenton._ ” Tucker read.

“Every attempt to get rid of a genetic mutation would kill him though.” I sighed. Tucker shook his head. “I don’t know what to say.”

I sighed. We jumped as my phone starting ringing, the Caller ID showing us Daniel Fenton.

“Hello?” I asked, Tucker pausing from reading. I told him to continue as I left the room, Danny talking softly in my ear.

“ _Hey….Are you doing anything right now? I kinda want to g-g-get out of my house….and, uh, I don’t really ha-have any f-friends besides you and Tucker._ ” He said in my ear. My heart wrenched out of sympathy.

“Well, Tucker is over right now--”

“ _Oh I understa--_ ”

“And you can come over too….we can work on the rest of the essay that you could proofread and fact-check.” I said, a smile on my face and my voice. I heard a sigh of relief. “ _Thank you...I’ll be over soon. Any oth-other s-s-school things that you would like to work on?_ ” He asked.

“Tucker may want Calc help, but it can wait if you want to talk about anything.” I told him. There was a pause.

“ _Maybe…._ ” He said, and I heard talking in the background. The talking was muffled and sounded apologetic, making me realize something must have happened when he went home.

_“No, Mom, I’m just going to Sam’s._ ”

In that moment, his voice was hard and sharp, like he was scared of the person he was talking to. I’ve never heard him more serious and dangerous in the time that I’ve talked to him.

_“I’ll see you soon._ ” He said, his voice normal and calm, and then the line disconnected. I sighed and came back in the room. “We can’t tell him we know yet…” Tucker said.

“We don’t know exactly what's going on, either.” I continued. “We need more time…” I said, placing my face in my hands. “Tucker, he told someone he was coming over, and he seemed….apprehensive.”

Tucker cocked his head to the side. “What do you mean?”

“....He was scared of whoever he was telling that he was coming over.” I told him. “Wait, Danny is coming over?” Tucker said, immediately shoving the documents and pictures back into the stained folder.

“Yeah, sorry...I’m just worried about him. We barely know him, yet I want to protect him.” I whispered. “And no, this feeling has nothing to do with my feelings toward him.” I glared at Tucker.

“From my understanding, Danny doesn’t seem dangerous.” Tucker decided. “Whatever he is, we stand by him…” I told him.

A knock on the door stopped our conversation short, and I immediately went downstairs. “Hey Sam.” He said.

He had a gnarly cut on his face, which was bruising significantly. I could hardly contain my gasp. I dragged him in my house, his face contorting in surprise.

“Have you cleaned that? What happened?” I asked. He looked like he didn’t know what to say, and was starting to panic. I stopped at the top of the stairs, and looked back at him. He looked at his shoes, his face pale and terrified. “Hey, you don’t have to tell me, okay?”

He looked up and nodded, opting to be silent rather than speak. I pulled him into my bathroom, ignoring suggestive stares from Tucker.

I opened the cabinet to my first aid kid, motioning him to sit down on the edge of my tub. He was blushing and not meeting my eye as I pressed my fingers to the cakey blood, making sure he wasn’t still bleeding.

“I don’t know why you didn’t clean this before you stepped outside. It could get infected.” I told him, pulling up my stool, and sitting down while dabbing a cotton ball in rubbing alcohol.

“This is going to sting a little bit.” I told him, pressing the ball to the cut. He hissed a little bit, but stayed silent, watching me steadily with his full attention. I felt my face heat up as I continued to clean the cut, and then taping a butterfly bandage to his cheek. We stayed in the position a minute more, watching each other. I could feel his breath on my cheek, that's how close we were in that moment.

Tucker knocked on the door, making Danny accidentally fall in the bathtub and drag me with him with a screech.

Tucker opened the door and immediately started wheezing. “What the hell happened in here?” He laughed and the paused. “Wait, I don’t want to know.” He continued. I stood up and went to help Danny.

“You guys are a pair of, uh, LOVEBIRDS!” He laughed.

“We are not lovebirds!” Danny and I shouted at the same time. We blushed and made no effort to make eye contact after that. Danny looked happy, though. So it was worth it.

///

_Danny’s POV_

I’ve started taking note of everything that makes me happy. It’s a small list.

The Stars: Ever since I was little, I’ve loved the night sky. I used to dream of being an astronaut, and I still kinda do…. But… I know that my parents wouldn’t let me go that far away from them before I’m healed from my ‘freakiness’.

My sister: Jazz has always loved me unconditionally, even after my accident. She never gives up on me, and makes sure I always feel loved. With her at the high school interning to be a psychologist, and then taking Pre-Psych courses at the local college...I haven’t seen much of her.

Sam.

Yep… Sam is on my list, slowly moving her way up to number one. I didn’t know why but, she actually cared about me. And the moment a couple hours ago in her bathroom….

I was going to kiss her. I don’t know why.

I’ve never had an actual crush on really anyone before. I had one on Paulina, but only because I thought she was beautiful. She crushed me after freshman year by inviting me to the school dance, and then never showing up. That was the last dance I went to.

I know for a fact, however, that I am definitely crushing on Sam. She is kind, caring, and compassionate. The fact that she can be a goth without worrying what others have to say about it makes me want to be like her. There are times where I could see her liking me back, from the way she looks at me, and the way that Tucker teases her about it.

But then I remember that I’m a monster, and that she wouldn’t accept me. I quieted down after the moment in the bathroom, wanting to proofread the essay Tucker had written. It was well written, and after I added my portion to it, it was ready to turn in. The project wasn’t due until the end of the week, but it was good to have it done. Tucker was bummed that I didn’t bring my calculus book with me, but I just laughed at him when Sam kicked his shin after he complained.

As the day grew darker, my anxiety became apparent to even Tucker. Holding a conversation with me was pointless, because I just got distracted by the way the sky darkened. “Hey, do you not want to go home tonight?” Tucker suddenly asked me. My eyes snapped to his, and I was surprised to see him not flinch. My eyes have always been very sharp and calculating, and people seem to be intimidated by them.

“Uh...not particularly, no.” I said, sighing. I rubbed my arms with my hands, wishing that I could feel some of the chill from earlier this day, because then my mom wouldn’t have attacked me, and I wouldn’t be scared of going home.

“You could stay at my house…” Tucker offered, smiling softly. “My parents wouldn’t mind if I told them you were having issues at home.”

I paled slightly and coughed. “I mean, it’s not like they are abusing me or anything.” I said, feeling trapped suddenly. Tucker nodded. “Of course not.”

Sam didn’t answer. “Sam, they aren’t abusing me.” I told her, looking her in the eye. They weren’t really, at least to their knowledge. “Whatever you say.” She told me.

I picked up on the fact that they knew something. They knew something big, and I could tell Tucker was having trouble not asking me something. I stared at them, willing one of them to say something to me. I sighed and shrugged.

They’ll tell me eventually. They’ll have to if they know.

Tucker got up and I helped him gather some of his stuff. Sam wished us goodbye, but grabbed my wrist before I had the chance to walk out of the house. “If you need to talk about anything….let me know.” She whispered, pulling me into a hug. I don’t know if she felt how cold I was, or that my heart skipped a beat when she embraced me, but I found myself tightly hugging her, and having to force myself to let go.

“See you tomorrow, Danny.” She said. I nodded, and headed into my car, where Tucker was already sitting and smirking at me as I started the vehicle. “What?” I demanded, looking at him as I packed out of her driveway. “Do you like her?” He asked, that smirk still wide on his face. I looked at him in exasperation. “Is n-n-now the time for this q-q-question?” I asked, my face turning slightly red.

“You do like her don’t you?” He grinned. I blushed even more. “K-Kinda.” I mumbled to myself. Before he could say anything else, I cut him off. “Do you mind if I run to my house for some clothes?”

He nodded, looking slightly worried. “Do you also mind if you came inside with me so my mom doesn’t ask a lot of questions?” I said as I neared my house. “Of course man.” He said, unbuckling his seatbelt as I put my car in park and exited it. I could see the light to the lab was on, and I shuddered a bit before Tucker and I started up the stairs to my front door.

“I know that you guys are smart, and I know that you guys know something.” I said suddenly, my voice dark. Tucker looked at me, guilty and about to speak, when I opened the door. My mother was in the living room, not seeing Tucker at first.

“Daniel, I’m sorry about your face.” She said, in a not caring wayl. Tucker entered the house and looked in shock from my face to my mom, who was frozen. “It’s fine. I’m just grabbing clothes.” I told her shortly, going up the stairs with Tucker in tow.

“...Your mom did that to your face?” He asked. I nodded. “Who else?” I mumbled. “They aren’t abusing me, they just think that they are helping. I don’t know what you know, but the fact that you aren’t running away screaming knows that you don’t know much.” I said darkly, my eyes flickering green for a second. I knew that Tucker saw this, judging by the way his mouth opened in understanding, but I just packed a bag, grabbed my backpack, and went back outside the door.

“Did you ask me if you could spend the night somewhere?” My mom demanded, her arms crossed from her place on the couch, watching us as we descended the staircase.

“No...but given the fact it's for school, I think I should be fine.” I told her, Tucker pausing at the front door.

“Daniel...it’s a school night.” She said, her eyes telling me to stay put where I was. “Yeah, and we have to get going if we are going to get to bed at decent time.” I said, stopping the conversation firmly and leaving the house.

Tucker didn’t say anything during the drive to his house, but I could tell he had questions. “Why does your mom do this to you?” He finally asked, his voice soft and concerned. I sighed. “Because she doesn’t think I should exist. Maybe sometime I’ll tell you why.” I told him. I’m not stupid, I know they knew something….I just didn’t know what.

We went into his house, and after him introducing me to his parents, I was sitting on the floor of his room watching him play a video game. I was working on homework while he was doing this. We sat in comfortable silence. It was starting to get late, and Tucker still had no sign of being tired.

“Dude?” I asked. He jumped and looked over, pausing at the same time. “Yeah?”

“It’s one a.m.” I yawned. I had been dozing a bit while watching him play after getting done with calculus and checking Tucker’s calculus. He rubbed his eyes. “Thanks man, I would have forgotten and stayed up until it was time to leave. I’ll have to teach you how to play this man.” He laughed, throwing me a blanket and pressing a button, a spare bed flinging from under his own.

“Woah.” I blinked. “A invention of my own creation. It wasn’t hard, but it comes in handy.” I laughed.

“Thanks for letting me stay here.”

“Well you couldn’t have stayed at your crush's house, who knows what you would have done…” Tucker smirked. I rolled my eyes, lying down as he turned out the light.

“I think I almost kissed her today.” I told him, not knowing why he would care. “Did you?” He asked, sounding slightly happy.

“Yeah, when she was cleaning my face. I don’t know, Tuck. I really like her.” I told him. “I’m sure she likes you too.”

“Nah, she couldn’t like me. I’m too...different. Who I am….what I am….I could hurt her.” I whispered. Tucker didn’t know what to say, but as I turned around to close my eyes, Tucker patted my back.

“You won’t know if you don’t try. Fuck your parents dude, just stick with us….We’ll keep you safe.”

I fell asleep feeling more reassured than I have in a long time.

**Author's Note:**

> i am transferring this story from fanfiction.net to here. I am the original author in case you think I am stealing it xD


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